"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary"

As a passionate sketcher, Pablo Picassio's statement grabbed my attention. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

written by Maureen Roke

From my first sketch through to 35 sketchbooks later, all filled with moments in time

Looking through the book's over the years I can see my development and perception of everyday life. They are collection of adventures and travel through sketching. They all take me back to "that Moment".

"That moment" - is made up of sketchbook travels, from India to Cambodia and Japan to Greece and more. Some are just funny sketches, or they remind me of hilarious things that happened while I was sketching. Once I was sketching on a street in India, I wanted a young passerby that showed interest to write the name of the street in my book for me. He took my pen and thought I wanted help with the drawing and worked over my effort! You know how precious we can be about our own work! Definitely a lesson in loosening up. Sketching on a street is a bit like walking my dog. People like to stop and talk about either dog or drawing. Definitely a "Diary"

I have been influenced by some wonderful artists in filling my sketchbooks, in the early days with just trying things out with Art tutors and artist friends, then on to  Urban sketching,  Stephanie Bower, Ben Luk and many more. A sketchbook artist told me that on holiday you may take 500 to 3000 photos, but how often do you look at them?

Twenty sketches will hold a lot more memories as we have looked very hard at what we are drawing.

I enjoy abstract drawing also, making my own sketchbooks - Helen Wells. Concertina books - Karen Stamper. How amazing they are to share so much and I love sharing what I have learnt from them all.

I organise regular art classes for folks interested in sketching and techniques for painting water, cottages, and local scenes  I want to pass on my passion and get them started on their own "Diaries"